“State university presidents paint grim picture on budget cuts” by Katherine Long
The Seattle Times
Published 2/24/11
Retrieved 2/27/11
Complete URL: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014325571_higheredcuts25m.html
Intended Audience: higher-education students and teachers
Summary: The presidents of Washington’s three largest state universities were asked to predict specific outcomes of the governor’s proposed worst-case-scenario budget cuts on each of their schools. The presidents’ responses were equally and universally bleak with their firm beliefs that nothing good would come of them as they would ultimately undermine the state’s economy by reducing the opportunity for – and the quality of – higher education.
Key Points: Maximal budget cuts could result in the following:
• Significantly reduced admission of in-state residents. Out-of-state tuition is approximately three times higher than in-state.
• Increased faculty layoffs, including those jobs responsible for the schools’ maintenance and renovation.
• Dissolution of smaller degree programs, as well as reduced enrollment in larger programs.
• A typical four-year degree would be extended to at least five years. Less classes offered per semester would prevent students from taking on a larger credit load.
• Negative impact on the state’s economy. Decreased enrollment in higher education results in fewer higher-paying jobs to inject money back into the economy.
Relevance: Increased enrollment competition and higher tuition rates, as well as a potential decrease in the quality of education, may be enough reason to deter many in-state college hopefuls to look elsewhere to fulfill their career goals. I found some of the comments posted in regard to this article to be especially intriguing:
• “I have a budget cut for them … Stop paying university executives and coaches million dollar annual salaries!”
• “They could save a lot of money if they required tenured and highly paid professors to teach more than one or two classes a week.”
• “Basically just another kick in the gut for the middle class. A first class education is to be a privilege of the wealthy.”
Wow! Those last few comments make you think. I am curious to see how this plays out. The future for education does seem a bit bleak. But maybe there needs to be a change that will only happen if things continue to go down this path??? No maybe on there needs to be a change, but maybe things like this will be what brings it. Geeze.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I started wondering about using reciprocity for the state colleges and universities for Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I do not know the history in the Northwest, but in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and I believe North and South Dakota, there is no out-state tuition to attend each other's state schools. You do not get the higher amounts of money, but you do get a greater population of people to draw from as it would be 3 to 5 states and you make up the lost out-state tuition with volume - like a Costco approach.
ReplyDeleteIf we had 3 states (forget California because they have enough people already to draw from) of schools for people to choose from there would have to be larger campuses and professors would have to possibly teach more classes, but I think you would have our states start working more closely together to increase the quality of education in the Northwest. And how cool would it be for future students to know they have 3 states' worth of universities/colleges to choose from? They could even choose Boise State!
The deeper I dig into the government's budget issues, the more worrisome they appear. Couple that with home-loan difficulties, low interest rates on bonds and cds, a volatile market hostile to the small scale investor, and the fed creating trillions of dollars out of thin air (thankfully the banks are not lending it or we would have a much scarier issue to deal with in inflation), and I picked a tough time to graduate college and begin my adult life.
ReplyDeleteJeff, I was really concerned too just as I was finishing High School when the Carter years were ending with its high interest rates, gas lines, low morale in the U.S. and the hostages in Iran. Thank goodness for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team and the Miracle on Ice! :)
ReplyDeleteAll that to say things will get better and when you are teaching Social Studies 20 to 30 years from now, your students will look back at the second decade of the 21st century and say, "Man, that must have been an interesting time!". Which you can reply, "It was and I lived through it!"